Private Snafu: Difference between revisions

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A [[Wartime Cartoon]] series made during the [[The Golden Age of Animation|1940s]], starring the eponymous Private Snafu<ref>An acronym for "'''S'''ituation '''N'''ormal, '''A'''ll <s>'''F'''ucked</s> '''F'''ouled '''U'''p"</ref> set during the struggle of [[World War II]]. Produced by [[Warner Bros]]. for the Army-Navy Screen Magazine, these cartoons showed Snafu's adventures in the Army. They usually ended with various [[Aesop|Aesops]] concerning proper military behavior, via the comfounding insipid acts of the brash but ignorant Snafu. It could be considered a [[Spin-Off]] of the [[Looney Tunes]] and [[Merrie Melodies]] series of cartoons, supported by a few cameos of [[Bugs Bunny]] and usage of [[Mel Blanc]] as the voice of the bumbling Snafu.

* [[Big Eater]]: Snafu in "Chow Hound".

* [[Booby Trap]]: Has an entire cartoon on the subject, including one [[Gag Boobs|very]] [[Action Bomb|literal]] example.

* [[Deranged Animation]]: The climax of "Rumors", which features the bologna ([[Visual Pun|meant to represent the gossip growing out of control]]) becoming sentient creatures and reaching the point where the rumor from earlier turns into "We've lost the war". These nightmarish creatures in question look like something ripped out of a Dr. Seuss book--no surprise, since he worked on these shorts.

* [[Distracted by the Sexy]]: At least one short warned of the dangers of accidentally revealing sensitive information to beautiful women who might turn out to be spies. Also parodied in "Booby Traps", where it makes it ''seem'' like he's distracted by a harem of girls--only to reveal that it was a ''piano'' that caught his attention!

* [[Gossip Evolution]]: Military style! "Rumors" begins with Snafu being informed that it looks like a good day for a bombing, taking this to mean that they're about to get bombed, and spreading to others who in turn spread it until it becomes a rumor that they're about to lose the war. (In a nice touch of visual metaphor, the passage of the rumors is represented by baloney flying out of people's mouths.)

* [[Last-Second Word Swap]]: The narration of the very first cartoon explains the derivation of the name Snafu. As the letters '''SNAFU''' are displayed on screen, the narrator says: "Snafu. Situation Normal, All ..." (the narrator pauses as the letter "F" on screen vibrates) "... All Fouled Up."

* [[Mime-and-Music-Only Cartoon]]: "Pay Day", by Friz Freleng, is pretty much dialog free, relying on music and timing to accentuate the visual gags. The only dialog is at the very end.

* [[Missing Episode]]: ''Going Home'', which was never officially released because the [[MacGuffin]] resembled an atomic bomb. This one is a bit more interesting; the planned final SNAFU short, "Secrets Of The Pacific", was actually fully aimated before it was shelved at the last minute for unknown reasons, making it the subject of many [[Epileptic Trees]].

* [[Shout-Out]]: Carl Stalling makes one to his early Disney work by reusing a musical score he composed for the [[Silly Symphonies]] short "Hell's Bells" in the opening of "Hot Spot".

* [[Stealth Pun]]: The short ''Hot Spot'' has the Devil watching the army travel through a desert. Throughout the short, we see him breaking down in the heat as he strips out of his business suit and uses any liquids to keep himself cool. The joke, of course, is that {{spoiler|It's hotter than Hell out there!}}

* [[Wartime Cartoon]]

* [[Weapons Understudies]]: At least one cartoon was pulled from theaters before exhibition owing to serious similarities to the Manhattan Project, which at the time was a top-secret undertaking.

* [[Xylophone Gag]]: [[Trope Maker|Originated]] in the cartoon ''Booby Traps''.

* [[Yanks With Tanks]]

 

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